Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Twice
by IronManRidingaNimbus
Summary: This is set after the Emperor's death, and after the Thrawn trilogy. Han has somehow managed to steal Avenger, an Imperial Star Destroyer. But now he has one, what will he do with it?
1. Chapter 1

**Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Twice.**

Luke Skywalker awoke from a hibernation trance to hear R2-D2 loudly beeping a warning at him. He shook himself awake and re-adjusted his seat, then stared out of the cockpit of his X-wing Starfighter to check out his surroundings. What he saw wasn't good. An Imperial Star Destroyer was idling a few hundred metres from where Luke was positioned. The Empire never sent any of their ships this close to Coruscant, certainly not an Imperial Star Destroyer. "R2," Luke spoke to the droid through his headset, "switch us into attack mode. Just as a precaution." The droid beeped and Luke could hear the wings of his craft opening out into their famous 'X' position. Luke stretched his arms and then took the controls of his Starfighter, switching off the autopilot.

Luke edged closer to the Star Destroyer, before hearing a voice he thought familiar speak to him over the transceiver. "_Red Five_ come in, this _Avenger. _Over." Luke didn't have much choice but to reply. He couldn't exactly fight off an Imperial Star Destroyer. But maybe he wouldn't have to.

"_Avenger _this is _Red Five. _Who am I speaking to? Over." Luke waited anxiously before the _Avenger _responded.

"_Red Five _this is Grand Admiral Han Solo speaking. Prepare to be pulled into the Hangar." Luke felt the familiar pull of the Destroyer's tractor beam, which would bring him into a service hangar. Once safely inside, he opened the canopy of his X-wing and hopped out, before helping R2 to the ground. A door hissed open behind him and he turned to see his long-time best friend Han Solo.

"So you're a Grand Admiral now?" Luke asked. "How does the New Republic feel about that?"

"I imagine they'll be pleased once they see my new ship." Han gestured his hands around the room, wearing a huge smile on his face.

"Did you cut a deal with the Empire?"

"No. While you were away in the Unknown Regions playing with crystals and lightsabers, I hatched a plan you wouldn't approve of." Han gave Luke another wide smile.

"You stole an Imperial Star Destroyer?" Luke had been in Illum constructing a new lightsabers, after losing his old one on Naboo during a failed attack by the Empire. He had been gone for three months. Evidently three months was far too long to leave Han unguarded.

"From the Kuat Drive Yards no less." Luke was blown away. The Empire still had total control over the Kuat Drive Yards. The place was as secure as Coruscant. Even though Han had a reputation for doing the impossible, stealing an Imperial Star Destroyer from the KDY just couldn't be done.

"How did you do that?"

"Wedge intercepted a freighter smuggling goods from Sluis Van to the KDY for the _Avenger._ I took over the smuggling job, and the _Avenger _let me in. Honestly, the Empire has gotten pretty lax with their security. _Avenger _was idling outside the KDY with a few engineers keeping things going. Chewie and a couple of his buddies came along with me and we overpowered them using the element of surprise." Han's smile would probably never fade.

"Doesn't it worry you though? Since when have the Imperials ever left a ship empty?" Luke suspected a trap.

"It's more common than you'd think. The Old Republic's Venator Class Destroyers used to sit empty until they were needed. This ship might have been doing a crew change when we flew in, although, a lot of the Destroyers looked empty. Anyway, we've swept the ship. It took us a while, but we've had no problems once we escaped Kuat." Han's face darkened a little as spoke the final sentence.

"So you had problems in Kuat?" Luke asked. Han nodded.

"Someone managed to get a distress signal out. 8 squadrons of TIE Interceptors gave us a pounding, and then we had to figure out how to work the damn thing. We got moving, and even fired off a few rounds. But we took a fair amount of damage in the process. We got the hyperdrive to work eventually, and made a bit of a mess as we left the KDY. So the Empire has some cleaning up to do." Han was leading them through the vast maze of corridors in the mile long warship.

"Who's in charge of this colossal thing anyway?"

"Come on, I'll show you." Han stepped into an elevator and pressed the button that would take them to the bridge. Luke stepped out once they reached the top, and stared at the beautiful face piloting the floating city that was the _Avenger._

**A/N:**

**Heyy guys! Thanks for clicking on The Empire Strikes Twice! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and continue reading on. Please enjoy, read and review!**

**Iron Man.**


	2. Chapter 2 Eclipse is Moving

**Chapter 2.**

Luke stared at Mara Jade piloting the _Avenger _with intense concentration. "Mara?"

"This idiot decided to steal a Star Destroyer without any knowledge of how to fly one," Mara gave Han a side ways look then turned her attention back to the command console, "So then he calls for rescue after escaping the KDY. I arrive to find the ship in pieces, no engineers aboard. Regardless of how good the Wookie is at maintaining ships, he can't keep a Star Destroyer running on its own." Mara was good at getting her opinions across. Luke was still curious. "So then," Mara continued, "I have to call for more engineers, and the New Republic wouldn't send anyone out."

"They suspected a trap?" Luke asked.

"Exactly." Mara wasn't done yet. "So now we have our smuggler pals running an Imperial Star Destroyer. God knows how much pay they'll be expecting and half of them wont take New Republic Credits." Luke stood behind Mara and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Don't think that will keep me quiet!"

"Not at all." Luke sighed.

"Its not all bad," Han tried to reason, drawing glares from Mara, "We still have a working ship-"

"Ha, working!" Mara cut Han off. "This thing could take months to be fully fixed, and we can't just go straight into Mon Calamari with it either."

"We can't?"

"No! Do you think the Mon Cals are just going to let this thing in? We need to find somewhere that can repaint it first, put New Republic logos on it. Even then we still might get shot out of the sky, and we don't know the Mon Calamari Shipyards can actually fix it." Han seemed to consider this, and then spoke again.

"I can get Lando to paint it."

"Calrissian? Just how is he going to do that?" Mara spat out at Han.

"On Tatooine. He and I still have connections there you know. If we can get a message to Lando telling him to meet us there with some of his people, we should be able to get it done in a couple of days. Paint isn't hard to come by." Han seemed quite pleased with himself.

"Are you forgetting," Luke cut in, "that Tatooine isn't the safest place to be, even in a Star Destroyer. What if the Imperials decide to visit? It isn't a place that's under our control. Also, how much paint do you think we're going to need Han?"

"Point." Han conceded. "But do you have a better idea?" Mara's frown deepened. She tapped a control panel and set a course for Tatooine. She tapped the panel again and turned back to Han.

"This should patch you through to Lando. Tell him to bring extra paint."

**(/)**

Luke sat with Mara in one of the many compartments aboard _Avenger._ She was stressed. "I'm worried about being in hyperspace in this thing. An Imperial Star Destroyer is supposed to have a minimum crew of 5,000. I could only get 200 aboard, and they're a mixture of pilots and smugglers low on cash. If something goes wrong we're done for."

"Then lets hope nothing goes wrong." Luke massaged the back of Mara's neck, trying to ease her worries. But he was worried too, and he could sense that something else was bothering her. "What's bothering you?"

"Did I not just tell you?"

"There's something else, I can sense it."

"Stay out of my head Skywalker!" Mara turned to glare at him, but her expression softened. She let out a sigh. "The Imperials have almost finished building _Eclipse._"

"The _Eclipse_? I thought that project was scrapped after the Emperor was killed." Mara shuddered. The Emperor was still a touchy subject with her.

"So did I. Palpatine had ordered two to be built, _Eclipse _being the first. I was led to believe that KDY had given up on it." Mara wriggled into a more comfortable position, and buried her face in Luke's chest. She let out another deep sigh. "I saw it."

"You saw _Eclipse_?" Luke gasped. _Eclipse _was such a guarded, 'secret' project that many believed didn't actually exist. Luke himself didn't believe the Empire was actually building such a ship until Mara confirmed that it had begun construction at KDY.

"It was hard to miss. It's being moved. Under its own power too. I saw it on the way to rescue Han"

"That's not good news." Luke let the information sink in. The Empire's most powerful weapon since the Death Star was nearing completion. A planets worth of weaponry moving under its own power. Definitely not good news for the New Republic.

"Of course it isn't! Especially when you consider the fact that we don't know where it's going. The Emperor had thousands of places across the galaxy where he would complete projects in secret. It could be heading anywhere, and if the engines are operational you can be sure a lot of the weapons are too. We don't have anything that can take it on, certainly not if it gets completed. Never mind that it was being escorted by two Super Star Destroyers and five Imperial Star Destroyers."

Luke couldn't see any way to take on that much firepower. It did however; explain why the Star Destroyers at Kuat seemed empty. They probably were. If _Eclipse _was being moved in order to be completed, then a lot of the Imperial Navy would need to be onboard. Or onboard the _Eclipse's_ entourage. "Han is going to need to steal a lot more of these Destroyers."

"No." Mara replied. "We need to take control of the KDY." Luke sighed as he contemplated the impossible, but seemingly inevitable task the New Republic would have to undertake.

**A/N:**

**Heyy guys! I decided to write a 2nd chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it. The Star Wars Universe/Fandom is hard to write for! If anyone has any suggestions for the storyline or ideas they think I should use then by all means tell me. (I will credit you of course!) I hope you enjoy the chapter, read and review!**

**Iron Man. **


	3. Chapter 3 Status Report

**3.**

**Status Report. **

* * *

Han was gazing at the paint teams progress from the bridge of _Avenger. _Lando's people were doing a decent job. A red stripe had been painted the length of the hull, and the New Republic logos were almost finished. Luke had finally managed to convince Coruscant that they were in fact in possession of an Imperial Star Destroyer, and they had relayed the message to the Mon Calamari, who agreed to try and fix the damage. Two passenger ships and a large freighter were on their way to meet them in Tatooine, carrying crew, equipment and fuel. As well as anything that might be able to help minor repairs. Luke hadn't been seen all day; he was helping Mara assess the damage and deciding what repairs could be made here in Tatooine. When the pair finally surfaced from the bowels of the Destroyer, Mara still glaring at him, they seemed in slightly better spirits. Which wasn't saying much as the pair still looked unhappy with the situation. Han couldn't understand why they weren't a little more excited; they had an Imperial Star Destroyer at their command! Albeit a severely damaged one, but it could be fixed. "Status report?" Han looked up hopefully.

"You're an idiot." Mara said dryly.

"And you're not much fun to be around either sweetheart. Now that we know where stand…" Luke decided this was a good time to cut in, cleared his throat, and told Han what they had managed since arriving in Tatooine.

"Well the broken Tractor Beam Projectors are back online, not that they'll do us much good right now in terms of what we need but it was a minor fix."

"Still, nice to have them operational," Han replied, "anything else?"

"A nice amount," Luke returned, "Most of the Turbolaser batteries are functional, minus the ones that were badly damaged, as well as the Ion Cannons. The Imperials also left most of the ships armament aboard."

"Most of it?" Han raised an eyebrow.

"We're a little short on TIE Bombers. The AT-AT's are gone, but the AT-ST's are all there and there are 30 of those. A few of the TIE Fighters are gone too, but we have a lot of Skipray Blastboats and some Gunboats too, as well as all 12 Sentinel Landing Craft." Luke rattled off the Destroyers impressive armament to Han, Mara's expression didn't soften in the slightest. She still hated being on the ship.

"So what's the bad news?" Han asked, preparing himself for the onslaught. This time Mara decided to chime in, just as he expected.

"One of the primary engines is down, and one of the G4 engines is losing power. A lot of the sensors are ruined, and we still can't activate the Deflector Shields, which is why we're stuck hovering in Tatooine's atmosphere. On top of that, the Main Hangar door wasn't shut when you left KDY and one of the cycling racks took a hit. So now we have a squadron of TIE Fighters we can't launch." Mara practically spat the last sentence out.

"Ok, Chewie and I can mend the cycling rack. Maybe the New Republic will have something aboard that freighter that can help us fix the G4. We should still be able to get to the Mon Cals on the other two engines right?" Han was almost humbled by Mara's expression.

"Oh we might be able to get there, but it's going to take a while, and the trip here was bad enough. Who says I want to be stuck piloting this thing for days?"

"You don't have to…"

"Yes I do!" Mara snapped. "You think you can pilot this thing out of here? No." Mara cut him off before he could answer. "And you better fix that cycling rack. You _stole _a Star Destroyer from the Imperial Navy's backyard! You're a dead man walking. You best hope those TIE Fighters can get out of that hangar." Han, as usual, decided to take Mara's warning as a compliment and grinned widely. One day his luck would actually run out, and Luke wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to be there to see it. Mara gave Han another glare, and turned to leave the bridge. Luke nodded to Han and followed her out.

* * *

_He's going to get us all killed._ Mara thought. _We've all known that for a while._ It was Luke."I thought I told you to stay out of my head Skywalker!" Mara snapped at her husband. She hated the ways he could use the Force sometimes.

"I'm not _in _your head, you're practically screaming those thoughts out." Luke shook his head. "Go through your calming exercises, and then you'll be able to stop projecting your thoughts out." Mara pouted. But she knew he was right. Every time she let her temper get the better of her, she lost some control over the Force. Silently she went through the Jedi calming exercises Luke had been teaching her. "Better?" Luke asked. She nodded.

"He's just such an idiot sometimes!" Mara leaned over and bashed shoulders with Luke. He wrapped his left arm around her waist. The pair of them continued walking down the corridor before Luke spoke again.

"I know," He sighed, "but he's our idiot." Mara turned and planted a kiss on his cheek. Luke wrapped both arms around her waist and kissed her lips. _Our compartment's only a couple of hundred metres away… It'd take us a few seconds to get there… _

"Now who can't keep their thoughts to themselves?" Mara pulled back and gave him a devilish grin. A grin he returned.

"Who said I wanted to keep them to myself?" Luke countered. Of course he didn't. Mara pecked his cheek again, and sprinted off down the corridor. She could hear Luke chasing behind her.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Heyy guys!  
**

**Sorry I've taken so long to update! I've been swamped in a lot of other writing projects and kinda neglected this one for a while. But,if you like it I'll try and update more regularly. Leave me a review and tell me how I'm doing!**

**Iron Man. **


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